Man vs food

Imagine eating and drinking your way around Cardiff and environs and getting paid for it. It's safe to say that Ed Gilbert is now very much living the dream.

Having recognised the quality of his blog Gourmet Gorro, Wales Online have done the decent thing and got Ed on board as a resident food, drink and travel writer. It's refreshing to have decent coverage celebrating the vibrancy of the local culinary scene rather than breathless puff pieces for the latest boring chain to arrive in Cardiff.

Ed's only been in the role for a matter of weeks and has already reported on everything from Milkwood's transformation from small-plate bistro to daytime cafe, to a coffee shop and wine bar opened in a former brothel in Roath by a brother and sister team, to a dog cafe in Llanrumney that also happens to serve a sensational reuben sandwich. He's set his sights beyond the confines of the capital too - for instance, taking note of the opening of street food hall in a rugby clubhouse in Bridgend.

Acknowledging that behind each foodie enterprise there are people with passion and perseverance, Ed has already profiled a number of local food heroes: Leyli Homayoonfar of Bab Haus, who's offsetting the sad loss of Barry's legendary smokehouse Hang Fire by serving up Mexican barbecue street food at the nearby Goodsheds; Lee Skeet, the Gordon Ramsay-trained chef whose intimate supper clubs have delighted diners and helped him to fall back in love with cooking after sustaining horrific hit-and-run injuries; and Mike St Amand, a former Hang Fire head chef now the proprietor of both chicken wing outlet Wingman and burger joint Bun Headz. And then there are suppliers like Olly Woolnough of Meat Matters, whose vital contributions to a memorable meal all too often go underappreciated. 

Make no mistake, Ed is performing sterling service for readers and restauranteurs alike - whether that's publicising new openings and closures on Wellfield Road or updating articles that list the best vegetarian and vegan places in Cardiff and all of the restaurants open for business on a Monday evening.

If there's a problem with following him on Twitter, it's that you'll find yourself feeling permanently hungry...